Expedia, Airbnb and Booking Comply With California Junk Fee Law — But in Different Ways
Photo Credit: A view of the Golden Gate Bridge in 2020 in San Francisco, California. Flickr / Creative Commons / David Yu
Skift Take
Now you know why online travel companies do so much A/B testing. The whole world seems to depend on whether a price disclosure is in a bold or light font. Fee transparency is being put to its own test in California.
The Big Three travel booking sites — Booking.com, Airbnb, and Expedia/Vrbo — all appear to be complying with California's new junk fee transparency law. But the way they are doing it varies considerably.
The new law, which became effective this week, requires travel sellers and others to display the total price, including mandatory fees, upfront. They don't have to show taxes on first view.
However, Expedia.com is displaying the total cost upfront in bold, including fees and taxes, for hotels.
Source: Expedia.com
Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo do not show the total rate and fees upfront, including taxes.
Asked why Expedia.com shows the total cost for hotels but not for Vrbo's short-term rentals, an Expedia Group spokesperson said: “Regarding Vrbo, we are following an approach co
